THE COPELAND & TYCHSEN WEDDING

Marine Hugh Tychsen wanted the moment he proposed to Claire
Copeland to be romantic and memorable; he was on the mark. Knowing
that his girlfriend’s parents were engaged on the Fourth of July
and recognizing his coming deployment, it was the perfect time.
Hugh was about to leave for Iraq for the third time and he needed
to say goodbye. “I flew Claire out to California for the Fourth of
July, just before I was to leave,” Hugh explains. While sitting on
a bluff, overlooking the fireworks, Hugh waited for his moment.
“During the fireworks finale, I got down on one knee and
proposed.”

They were engaged for a year and a half. “During that time, Hugh
was in grad school while trying to find a job, so when we finally
decided to get married, we had about five months to prepare,”
Claire says. Time was of the essence but the wedding party fell
into place. “I am one of four,” Hugh says. “I have two brothers and
a sister, so my brother, Andrew, served as best man; my brother,
Paul, was a groomsman; and my sister was Claire’s bridesmaid.
Claire has one sister and she served as maid of honor.” Keeping the
wedding party and guest list small relieved a lot of pressure. “It
was less stressful— and a supportive family did their best to keep
me calm,” Claire recalls. “We made sure it was extremely intimate.
There were 85 people at the reception—it was really personal. We
spent time talking to everyone and never felt overwhelmed,” states
Hugh.

Both the bride and groom wanted to show their appreciation to
their parents. “We brought our parents up to the altar during the
ceremony and gave them each a rose,” Hugh explains. The reception
also held many touching moments, including a surprise for Claire’s
mother. “My sister and I got married within one year of each other,
and our mom did most of the planning. My dad surprised my mom with
a new wedding ring as a thank you at the reception,” Claire
recalls. A few personal touches were added to the reception, such
as when the couple used a 1959 Marine model sword to cut their cake
and the groom’s parents surprised them with fireworks. When asked
about the most special moment, Claire’s answer came easily: “The
whole day was special to me.”